RWBY's Bizarre Adventure - STAND PROUD
by Gone2GroundEX
Summary: Part 1 of 3: Semblance is often romanticized as a reflection of the soul, which is far too accurate a definition, although the true reflection of the soul...is the power known as the Stand. A new island of survivors is discovered and brought into the world of Remnant, and the powers its citizens bring with them will change the face of the world. ON HIATUS FOR NANOWRIMO/FINALS
1. Prologue

He'd had better days, Ozpin reflected idly. Earlier today, he'd had to finish the rosters for the second semester, and now…he had expected Port to tell him that he'd gotten no news, that the rest of the world was still covered in Grimm, with only the known strongholds of humanity standing out. Instead, he'd sent a rather…bewildering report, and was now standing in his office accompanied by a tall, older man with a clipped beard in a massive trench coat, with khaki pants and a light shirt.

Ozpin glanced over his spectacles at Port, before sighing and picking up his coffee. "You're absolutely certain?"

"Yes." The professor rumbled. "This island was completely free of Grimm. They had their own school, dedicated to training their own hunters. In fact, they believed that the rest of the world had been overwhelmed themselves."

"That part I can understand…." Ozpin sighed. "This part about their…Semblances having evolved?"

"That's what the professor I asked to come with me said." Port shrugged. "That the Semblance was a stepping stone towards the real power of Aura…a reflection of the user's own soul."

That was when the second man stepped forward, grinning genially and extending his hand. "Ozpin, was it?"

"You are correct." The headmaster said, taking the man's hand in his own and wincing. That was a significantly stronger grip than he'd anticipated. "Tell me, professor…Joestar, was it?"

The man's grin somehow grew wider as he nodded. "Joseph Joestar, yes."

"Of course." Ozpin said absent-mindedly. "Tell me…why did you come?"

"Well." Joseph shrugged, grin fading. "I understand your students and even your professors are expected to fight Grimm using only their Semblance?"

"Along with their _extensive_ weapon training and physical abilities." Ozpin said, slightly defensively. He didn't like the suggestion that he was endangering his students. Joseph shrugged.

"Sorry if I offended you. I brought one of my school's teams – four of our best and brightest – here in an exchange program, to better integrate with the newly discovered world!" Joseph grinned. "Why, my own grandson is on it!"

"We're grateful that you're taking this revelation so well." Ozpin agreed. "However, you said that you were here to teach as well?"

"I have to teach you how to defend yourselves. All of you." Joseph shrugged. "I'll teach you how to evolve your power…"

Ozpin carefully put his coffee down and glanced at him. "Yes, this evolved Semblance that Port mentioned. What did you call it?"

"It's called a Stand." Joseph said, extending his hand. " _Hermit Purple!"_

A chain of purple, thorny vines snapped out of his sleeve and wrapped around Ozpin's cup, yanking it into Joseph's hand. The older man kept a perfect grin on his face as he slowly drank the coffee, making an appreciative sound.

"That's good coffee." He admitted, putting it down again. Ozpin's eye twitched slightly in annoyance. "Now, you're going to say…'when do you start?'"

"When do you-" _How on earth did he do that?_ "…is that another power of your Stand?"

"Oh, no, I just do that." Joseph chuckled. "Still, this semester, hopefully. Sorry if it's hard to fit into your schedule!"

With that, Joseph turned to leave, clapping Port on the shoulder and leaving them to it. Port shook his head.

"He's a friendly sort, but a bit overwhelming." He admitted. Ozpin nodded in quiet agreement, glancing down at the four young men on the helipad, waiting for their teacher's return.

"Tell me…what do you know about this team?"

"They're the best that their academy had raised." Port shrugged. "I saw their leader in action myself, the one in the long coat. He took out a Death Stalker in mere moments with his Stand, I've never seen anything like it."

"…if we can teach our students to unlock these Stands…" Ozpin said slowly. "…we may just get an advantage. Thank you, Port. I need to make a personal call."

Qrow would want to hear about this, as would James. Port nodded and left the room, leaving Ozpin to stare at the roster for the submitted team.

"Team JOJO…" He muttered. It was strange, how their nation didn't follow their regular colour naming patterns, although he supposed it made sense. "Jotaro Kujo, Giorno Giovanna, Josuke Higashitaka and Guido Mista…interesting."

He'd have to check the files on their abilities later. Right now, all it mentioned was the name of their 'stands'. Star Platinum, Gold Experience, Crazy Diamond and Sex Pistols…there was something strange happening here.

Some powerful new players had been added onto the side of the angels…but things didn't just get better without cause. Ozpin suddenly felt very, very certain that in order for this to happen, the side of the demons must have had some kind of boost.

He didn't know how right he was. Hundreds of miles away, in a base filled with White Fang terrorists, Roman Torchwick found an old, rotting casket floating through an underground river. The only word on it?

DIO.

* * *

RWBY'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE

CHAPTER ONE: OPEN THE GAME

* * *

Jotaro Kujo was not having a good day.

First, he'd been reluctantly separated from his own friends - no matter how little he outwardly seemed to care for them - and sent on a plane with a group of people he hardly knew (and, in one case, had a rather strained personal relationship with - Josuke _was_ technically his half-uncle), but now he was trying to eat, in a cafeteria full of people staring at them, whispering about their purpose here.

Why couldn't they have waited until after the assembly to try and eat?

"I can't eat this!" Guido whined, pushing his food away. His odd manner of clothing, skullcap with blue arrow especially, had drawn him all sorts of looks - as had the fact that he was the only one of the four apparently armed, a revolver hanging at his waist. "There's four things on it! What, does the cook want me to die or something?"

"Nobody wants you to die, Guido." Giorno sighed. His purple suit was fairly normal, by their standards - except for the heart-shaped hollow above his zipper. His blonde hair had been braided, with three rolls at the front standing out. Of everyone at this table, Giorno was the one that made Jotaro nervous the most. He wasn't sure if he could take him in a fight, and everyone knew who HIS ancestor had been. Although at the very least, he was the least likely to draw attention to them right now, so that earned him a few good points.

Josuke's purple pompadour bobbed next to them. "Yeah! If you don't want it, I'll have one part! Then you'll only have three to choose from!"

Guido thought about this for a few seconds, then nodded in agreement. Josuke, grinning, impaled his steak on his fork and dropped it on his own plate, leaving Mista with broccoli, potatoes and carrots.

"HEY! What are you trying to pull!"

"You said I could take one part, right?" Josuke grinned, cutting into the steak. Mista opened and closed his mouth a few times, before sighing in defeat and slumping back in his chair, Giorno patting his back comfortingly.

"It's alright, Guido. Next time just don't ask for any carrots."

The gunslinger let out a low whine as Jotaro shook his head and returned to his own meal. As far as school fare went, it was rather good, but he supposed that when you were training what were for all intents and purposes soldiers you'd need proper nutrition.

This was their introduction to the school at large, and as far as they go, it was fairly normal – even if most of the others were ignoring them. Well, up until Cardin decided to vent some of his frustrated curiosity (an attempt to intimidate Jotaro had gone horribly wrong, when it turned out the new student had at least five inches on him and was almost half as wide again as the Winchester) on Velvet, yanking at her ears again and claiming that she'd been laughing at his humiliation, despite the fact that she hadn't arrived until significantly after the incident had passed. Coco saw this and stalked towards him, but one other person - who was closer - stood up, and proceeded to make everything worse.

"Please let her go." Josuke said politely. Cardin glanced at him.

"Hey, pal. You're new around here, so let me give you some advice - you take your stupid haircut somewhere else, and I'll do what I want, got it?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, and as one the rest of Team JOJO winced.

"Shit." Guido muttered. Josuke's eye twitched.

"I'm sorry...what did you just say about my hair?"

Cardin, despite his faults, was not a _complete_ coward. "I said it was stupid! You got a problem with tha-"

" _CRAZY DIAMOND!"_

"Oh, hell." Jotaro cursed under his breath as Josuke's Stand manifested. A powerfully built humanoid, in fragmented light blue armour over pink muscles with a tall, flat-topped helmet rose up next to him. Cardin had a moment to blink in surprise before the first - and last - punch was thrown.

"DOOOOORA!"

Cardin Winchester was a first-year student, with fairly high combat grades. Josuke Higashitaka was one of the best students that the Joestar Academy had ever produced, and was master of a particularly powerful Stand. Beacon Academy's walls were designed to withstand most impacts from training.

The walls did not withstand the Cardin-shaped impact. Josuke smirked. "Don't come back! Asshole..."

The room stared at them in shock, and Jotaro took off his hat to run a hand through his hair. " _Yare, yare daze._.."

An ordinary introduction completely ruined. Well, this was off to a _good_ start.

* * *

 _Stand Name – Crazy Diamond_

 _User – Josuke Higashitaka_

 _Destructive Power – A_

 _Speed – A_

 _Range – D_

 _Durability – B_

 _Precision – B_

 _Developmental Potential – C_

Other abilities: Restoration. Crazy Diamond can restore or revert objects or organisms to any previous state in their history, repairing damage, healing injury and reverting chemical changes to their raw components. It runs the chance of its target being improperly warped should Josuke be in a foul mood. It cannot revive the dead or heal Josuke himself.

* * *

Ruby Rose was awoken by a sharp, pointed elbow jamming into her ribs. Groaning, she glanced at the culprit's face.

Weiss Schnee was not impressed.

"Will you pay attention?" She hissed. Down on the platform, Ozpin – who hadn't even paused in his speech – seemed to give them an amused glance. How on earth did he always know it was them? "This is important!"

"Now, while the discovery of another civilized location is one to rejoice over, the most interesting news is what they have revealed about the nature of Semblance." He said steadily, sipping from his coffee. "I'm sure most of you have at least heard about one of the new transfer's recent outburst at the expense of Mister Cardin, who is expected to make a full recovery."

That brought the usual discouraged cheering such announcements of a bully getting his comeuppance brought, and Ozpin's lips twitched slightly.

"The ability will be explained by the transferring professor, Joseph Joestar of the Joestar Academy." Ozpin nodded politely at the older man, who stood up from his chair with a grin.

" _Hermit Purple!_ "

The thorny purple vines wrapped around the screens of the assembly hall, which until previously had been showing the banner of the Joestar Academy – a simple star on a black-and-white background, checkered with diamonds – next to Beacon's. Now, a vision took its place on its screen, of students standing in a circle around a fountain somewhere else. In front of them, a pair of old men – one with a severe scar on his face and a trailing mullet, the other with a bandanna wrapped around his head – stood forward and bowed slightly.

"We're going to assume that Joseph has managed to use his stand by now." The man with the bandanna said dryly. "My name is Caesar Zeppeli."

"Mine is Robert Edward O. Speedwagon." The scarred man said, shooting his companion a glare. "I am the Dean of Joestar Academy. The ability allowing you to see us is called a Stand – a reflection of the user's soul. Joseph's allows him to project images onto a screen, no matter the distance or location, as long as he knows what he is looking for. What this says for him, is probably not worth considering."

The students took an almost immediate liking to Speedwagon, just like Joseph anticipated they would. Was there anyone that didn't like the man? Well, other than various terrorist organizations who were convinced that the man's ability to stay alive without a Stand or any other kind of power was some sort of supernatural ability of its own sort.

Caesar shook his head in disapproval before continuing. "What you call Semblance is, in fact, a young and unevolved Stand." He said, rubbing his hands together and smiling as bubbles seemed to trace around his fingers. "Everyone's Stand is different, and is awoken either by intense training or a moment of emotional upheaval. Using the Stand, we have managed to protect our island from the predations of the Grimm, even those you refer to as 'Goliaths'."

This brought some disbelieving murmurs from the crowd. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise – she'd only ever read about the Goliaths – forcibly, at that – but the idea of one Huntress being able to defeat them without help, using only their Semblance? That was incredible.

If this was true…she needed her Stand. Immediately. She hoped it was cool

"In the interests of good faith, we have sent Professor Joestar, one of our most experienced instructors, and a team of our finest first-year students to train you in Stand usage. All we ask in return is that you make sure the students we have sent continue their education properly." Speedwagon explained, tipping his bowler hat.

At this, Josuke let out a moan and slammed his head off the table. Joseph grinned at his expense, chuckling to himself.

"Our time runs short." Caesar sighed, turning to the students. "Joseph, cut the feed."

They didn't have any way of knowing if he had or not, so in the interest of fun, Joseph decided to keep it rolling. Caesar's next comment was, by consequence, overheard by everyone.

"Did you seriously just call Joseph our best instructor?" He complained to Speedwagon. "I thought you wanted to make a bond with these people, not drive them completely insa-"

Disappointed, and not willing to ruin his reputation any more than he already had, Joseph cut the feed. Thousands of miles away, Caesar grinned.

"You said that because you knew he'd still be watching, didn't you?" One of the students asked. Caesar nodded cheerfully. It felt good to get one over Joseph on occasion.

Back at Beacon, Joseph coughed. "I know that seems hard to believe, so allow us to demonstrate. Team JOJO, come forward and introduce yourselves!"

Glancing at each other, the transfers stood up from behind their table and walked onto the centre of the stage.

"My name is Jotaro Kujo." Jotaro grunted, leaving it at that. Joseph gave him a glare, so Jotaro sighed and raised his head. "My Stand's name is _Star Platinum_."

With that, a muscular man with blue skin rose up from behind Jotaro, letting out a cry. In the stands, Yang's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, this is going to be fun." She grinned, cracking her knuckles. That was a fight she was looking forward to.

"Giorno Giovanna." Giorno said politely, raising his fist to the edge of his heart-shaped collar. "My stand… _Gold Experience_!"

"Are they all going to pose?" Blake said incredulously. In front of them, Phyrra shrugged, instead staring at the thin, dome-headed golden man wrapping his arms around Giorno's shoulder.

"Do you think he's implying something with that?" She said dryly, even though her hands were quivering. For some reason, that man felt…dangerous. They all did, but Giorno positively _radiated_ danger. Like there was something off about him.

"Josuke Higashitaka." Josuke introduced himself, snapping his fingers. "As for my Stand, although you've already seen it… _Crazy Diamond!_ "

As yesterday, the armoured man rose up next to Josuke, letting out its own cry – much louder than Star Platinum's, as if it was challenging him. In the hospital wing, Cardin let out a small whimper. Pyrra let out a sigh of relief, as if Gold Experience's threat was somehow cancelled out by Crazy Diamond's appearance.

Finally, the final member of their team stood forward, smiling. "The name's Guido Mista, and this is my Stand, _Sex Pistols_!"

He snapped out his hand, the revolver clasped in it, as six imps flashed into existence and started swooping through the room, hollering.

"Pass pass _pass!_ "

"Pass pass _pass!"_

One flew up to Weiss and grinned, settling on her screen. A number 7 glinted on his forehead. "Heeeey there-"

Weiss let out an irritated grunt and flicked him, sending him spiralling back down the steps. Grumbling, she shook her head. "Well, they're real."

"They're actually all posing." Blake said in disbelief. Ruby's eyes were practically shining.

"Guys. We need to figure out posing too."

The rest of the team turned to give her incredulous looks, except her sister, who just sighed.

"Why?!" Blake said in confusion, scratching her head. "Why would we need to pose?"

"Well…" Ruby began, frowning. "I mean, if they're all doing it, it has to be linked to the Stands somehow, right?"

"The sad part is, at this point, I'd believe that." Weiss grumbled. This day had officially gotten Too Weird.

"Thank you, all of you." Ozpin said politely, as soon as Sex Pistols were back to rotating around Guido's gun hand. "We'll make sure you settle in here at Beacon as well as we can. Now, everyone is dismissed. Team RWBY, would you mind showing Team JOJO around the campus?"

As Weiss stared in disbelief, one thought crossed her mind. _Why was it always us?!_

* * *

"So, what're your names?" Josuke asked cheerfuly, resting his hands behind his neck and glancing at them with an appreciative smile. Weiss rolled her eyes and snorted, letting the rest of her team do the talking. This clearly wasn't going the way she wanted.

"Well, I'm Ruby!" Ruby said cheerfully. "That's my sister Yang, and our teammates Blake and Weiss! She's mean."

"I am _not!_ " Weiss protested, getting a few chuckles from Giorno.

"Cool. So, where's your fifth member?" Guido asked. The rest of team JOJO winced.

"…fifth? We always operate in teams of four." Blake said, confused.

"Yeah, teams of four, plus a teacher assigned to each team. That's what Professor Joestar told me!" Guido continued, a hint of desperation entering his voice. Jotaro groaned and adjusted his hat.

"Yare, yare daze…"

Guido froze. "…oh dear god, we're a team of four too, aren't we."

"What is _wrong_ with y-" Weiss started, before Guido screamed and ran back towards the helipad, the plane already taking off.

"PLEASE! TAKE ME AWAY FROM HERE! DON'T LEAVE ME, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

"He's got a complex." Giorno explained, giving them an apologetic look before running after him. "Guido! Calm down! They'll stop being teams of four when they get their Stands!"

" _That's not helping_!"

"Guido, shut up and behave or I swear I _will_ tell Bruno and Narancia about this!"

The two's bickering faded into the distance, Josuke grinning and Jotaro still groaning into his hand. This wasn't the kind of day he'd wanted to experience.

"Sooooo…" Ruby said after a few seconds. "...want to see the dorms?"

"Please." Jotaro grumbled. He'd send the room number to Giorno after he'd finished chasing down Guido. He could already tell this was a bad idea.

"You don't talk much." Yang raised an eyebrow, elbowing him. "Strong silent type, huh?"

Jotaro rolled his eyes and, with years of practice with his various fangirls, tuned her out. Yang let out an irritated noise, but let him be anyway. She'd get a rise out of him eventually.

"Awkwarrrd." Ruby muttered, getting a chuckle from Josuke. This meeting wasn't going as well as some people could have hoped.

They'd said their goodbyes to Jotaro and Josuke, who claimed they had jet lag – for some reason Jotaro was muttering about how "it was amazing we didn't crash" – and clocked out for the day. "They seemed nice." Ruby said, dangling upside-down from her bunk. Weiss groaned, shaking her head.

"They seemed crazy."

"Maybe they are." Blake shrugged. "They're strong, but they've been isolated for so long. Who knows how small that community was?"

"Either way, I think it'll work out pretty well." Yang grinned viciously. "What do you think our Stands would be like?"

"Who knows." Weiss snorted. "I hope it won't be like that Guido's and his stupid imps. Those things were annoying."

Blake tuned the rest of her teammates out as a thought occurred to her. If everyone from that island was so strong, how come they hadn't expanded? What _else_ must they have been fighting all this time, other than Grimm?

* * *

"It is good you did not open it yet." The hunched man drawled, his companion's cowboy boots clicking obnoxiously as they walked into the room, the two – admittedly expendable – White Fang guards having slumped to the ground with smoking bullet holes in their foreheads. Roman exchanged looks with Neo, before sighing.

"Oh, and why is that, stranger?" He asked casually, shifting over

"If it contains what I think it does, you would gain a powerful ally…but at the expense of your free will." The man walked around the ultraviolet floodlights glaring at the coffin, staring thoughtfully at the insignia.

DIO.

"My boss has decided that you would make a valuable business partner." He continued, filing the coffin away under 'interesting' for now. "Passione is an organization much like your White Fang, but rather than Faunus equality we specialize in…redistributing wealth."

Roman chuckled, lighting a cigar and extending a hand. "I'll have to check with my boss, but I have to say, you're the first man talking sense I've met in a long time. When can I meet yours?"

"The boss doesn't like people to know who he is." The man said blandly, extending his left hand to shake Roman's – and drawing evident amusement from his shudder when he realized it looked like a right. "I understand you've been kept up to speed with the new developments?"

"These Stands…interesting." Roman rolled the cigar in his fingers, frowning. "Hunters give us enough problems as it is. I assume the main benefit we would get from allying with your Passione is a way of dealing with them?"

"Exactly." The man bowed his head. "I'm merely the first one sent as an offering to do so. Would you care for a demonstration?"

"Oh, go ahead." Roman waved his arm around. The man nodded politely and turned to his own minion – to Roman's disappointment, not the cowboy – who paled and backed away.

"No! Ple-"

The minion made to run, but the shrouded man's hands raised and pointed at the glinting reflection of the minion in the roughshod metal wall. " _Hanged Man_ …"

To Roman's shock, what looked like a mummy rose behind the minion in the mirror, long knives extending from under his arms. The minion faced his reflection, his scream of fear cut short as the mummy seemed to move to cut the throat of the reflection, before his throat was slashed open in the real world by an unseen source and blood sprayed over the wall. A moment later, two more wounds opened up on the minion's body, jagged stabs in his chest, and he dropped to the floor with a dying gurgle.

"Is that an apt demonstration?" The man asked Roman politely. The dandy's mind raced with the implications – a completely untraceable assassin? If they didn't see the reflection, there was no way of knowing who or what killed the target. Oh, yes, this would do nicely.

"It's absolutely perfect. When do the rest of you get here?"

"The remainder of Passione's first wave of assassins will be here soon." The man promised, his eyes trailing across Neo's body with a twisted look in them. Roman nodded, satisfied, shifting in front of his assistant protectively.

"Good, good…what's your name again?"

"Call me J Geil, Mister Torchwick. My partner is Hol Horse." Geil grinned. "Now, then…shall I meet your employer?"

* * *

A/N: Rewritten slightly, edited slightly, compressed. It actually looks like a story, now, instead of a jumbled mix of drabbles. Next chapter should be mostly new content, with the Sheer Heart Attack fight being replaced due to dropping Kira as the entrance JoJo villain to something a bit more manageable in terms of power level, along with DIO's appearance being shunted to later in the plot. Schedule being firmly set (starting next month) to 10,000 words a month, either in multiple chapters or a single one, it doesn't matter.

EDIT 01: hates my pagebreaks for some reason. Put them back in.


	2. From Shadows

"You know." Hol Horse said conversationally as he stared out at the looming presence of the academy, his trained eyes picking out several concealed and folded in sentry turrets that would undoubtedly activate if he walked forward without authorization. "The Boss did give us a massive budget. Why don't we just hire some people to do this for us so we don't get killed before we even know what we're dealing with?"

Beside him, the bundle of rags that J Geil hid under blinked and considered his comrade's – 'friend' was pushing it – words. "Mercenaries?"

"Well, yeah." Hol Horse shrugged. "I mean, I'm not afraid or anything, but that's still a building where they teach kids how to kill giant monsters. Stands or no Stands, we're not exactly invincible with ours. I mean, mine is a _gun_ and you use _mirrors_."

"You raise a fair point." J Geil nodded. "…I'll contact Risotto later, he should know where to find some. No need to waste members of the Assassination Squadron to deal with this."

"Well, we've sorted that out." The cowboy nodded firmly, dusting his hands and turning away from the death-trap of an academy. "Bar?"

"…that would be agreeable."

Passione didn't get to be one of the largest – well, strictly speaking, the only – criminal network on Morioh Island without knowing who the freelancers were, either to kill them or recruit them, or use them for those projects where disposability was most important. All of those elements led to a rather prosperous freelance criminal 'economy' of a sort, mostly populated with dropouts from the Joestar academy – not normally for lack of skill, but rather dubious morals. Ever since Jonathan Joestar died, the place had been obsessed with drumming the perfect 'morality of a gentleman' into their students, even if they didn't outwardly match the profile.

Four mercenaries of dubious moral quality, but they'd do whatever they asked just because the amount of money they were dealing with was obscene. Not that J Geil or Hol Horse actually intended on paying them, of course. They figured they'd allow any survivors to mysteriously vanish in a 'misunderstanding' involving the White Fang's new weapons.

"Do you think it'll work?" Hol Horse asked after a few moments as their hires slinked away. J Geil gave him a look. "…yeah, I didn't think so."

* * *

RWBY'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE

CHAPTER TWO: FROM SHADOWS

* * *

 _Something's not right._

"Hey, are you alright?" Yang waved her hand in front of Blake's face, frowning. The faunus blinked in surprise and re-focused on the blonde, who was raising an eyebrow. "Earth to kitty cat, everyone else already left the cafeteria."

"Except them." Blake pointed at Team JOJO, who were all pretending not to listen. Yang rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you've been weird all day, ever since that class we shared with the second years. What's going on?"

"…something's…off about Velvet today. I'm worried."

Blake's ears twitched as she heard the JOJO member with the pompadour snigger something that sounded like 'Velvet-senpai notice me'. Thankfully, Giorno slapped the back of his head before she had to try and remember what 'senpai' meant in the first place.

"Maybe she's just ill." Yang shrugged, dragging the faunus out of the cafeteria by the shoulder. Blake didn't bother offering resistance, crossing her arms instead.

"Maybe, but…no, that can't be it. She _smelled_ different, too."

That brought Yang to a stop, and when Blake saw the growing grin on her face she groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Yang, don't star-"

"You pay attention to what Velvet smells like often, then?"

"Yang, _please_."

"Heck, I didn't even know you swung that way, but I guess the ears are kind of cute-"

A chocking noise came from JOJO's table as Josuke and Guido pictured that in their head for a second. Yang grabbed an apple, wound her arm up, and tossed it at their heads, where it was intercepted by Gold Experience.

Then, in what was probably a case of showing off for the sake of showing off – either that or taunting them – Giorno turned the thing into a small rabbit and let it run away. That got a snort out of Yang, if nothing else.

"I'm serious, something's up. She didn't even stop to say hello." Blake insisted, the bags under her eyes being more noticeable than normal.

"You really need to get some sleep, Blake." Yang said, eyes narrowing. "This paranoia over the White Fang is making you see problems everywhere you can."

"Maybe." Blake agreed reluctantly. "Can you at least keep an eye out on her for me?"

"If you'll get some sleep for the first time this month, yeah." Yang conceded, getting up. JOJO had gone strangely sombre as the subject changed towards the White Fang – they hadn't reacted very fondly when they'd been told of the group in their first class with Professor Oobleck either, saying it reminded them too much of Passione for their tastes – which was an out-and-out criminal organization, rather than a 'liberation' front.

"Do you think we should look into it?" Guido asked after they'd left. Josuke nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, we've seen weirder things happen, and there were reports that someone matching Hol Horse's description was in town recently…" He scratched his chin. "…this could be the work of an enemy Stand."

"Well, now that you've said it, if it wasn't before it will be now." Giorno grumbled. "Every single time one of us says that it turns out to be true."

"Hrm…" Jotaro grunted, getting up. "We'll find out the truth soon enough. Guido, have a Bullet keep an eye on her for now."

Guido gave a sloppy salute and sent part of his Stand spiralling towards Team CFVY's room ahead of them. It was only a floor above their own room, so it shouldn't be out of range. "What do we do if there is something weird going on?"

"Make our Stands hit it until it stops going on."

"Really inventive, Josuke…" Giorno sighed. "But why am I even complaining, that's what we end up doing anyway."

* * *

Stand Name – Sex Pistols

User – Guido Mista

Destructive Power – E

Speed – C

Range – B (Same as a bullet)

Durability – A

Precision – A

Developmental Potential – B

Other: Sex Pistols manifests as six individually numbered anthropomorphic 'bullets', that can control bullets and reload Mista's gun for him at greater speed. In addition, due to their sentience and personality, they can spy for Mista and the others. Mista is also in tune with the Bullets enough that they can deflect projectiles fired by other people, so long as they are physical and not spiritual (Stand-based) or elemental (due to Dust).

* * *

 _There wasn't much recorded history in the early days of Morioh Island. Separated from the rest of the world, we just survived on an individual basis against the Grimm, relying on those we called Mystics – those that could channel the power of Hamon, or the ripple, or sudo – whatever you want to call it. Personally, I prefer The Ripple, although the scientific name is Hamon so we'll go with that for now._

 _Hamon was the ability to, through a combination of proper control of your body and an indomitable soul – through the manipulation of a person's Aura – channel a power similar to that of sunlight, rejuvenating the living and burning the impure. With it, a user could heal faster, age slower, destroy the undead with but a touch and manipulate fluids. I myself once managed to convert a cola bottle into an improvised weapon by using Hamon to simulate the soda, sending the cap streaming off to break a policeman's finger. Not that that trick did me much good against a group of bona fide_ _ **gods**_ _…_

 _It's a long story. That's how I lost my hand! Headmaster Zeppeli almost died!_

 _Anyway, the undead – long thought to be a legend, until my grandfather's adopted brother, Dio Brando, uncovered a means of turning himself into one. He terrorized Morioh, gathering an army of thralls – lesser vampires, often incorrectly referred to as Zombies – before being defeated by my grandfather in one climactic final battle. Jonathan Joestar would later die at sea, with my grandmother saying that it was somehow Dio's fault – she never did explain precisely what happened that night. With Dio's thralls still wandering the island, the school was set up to train Hamon practitioners to both defeat the sudden approach of the Grimm and these new terrors. Shortly after my adventures, we discovered the power of the Stand, which was much easier to develop than Hamon – and so it became the new focus of our school, although we do still accept those without Stands, provided they can use Hamon._

 _Or, in one case, a peculiar new ability Caesar's grandson is developing called the Spin. Hrm…Oh, ignore the ramblings of an old man. Now you know the origin of the Stand, and the history of our island – now it's time to develop yours!_

* * *

Ruby and the rest had emerged from the classroom sweating and exhausted. As it turned out, the easiest way to awaken a Stand was to place them in extreme physical danger – citing Jotaro finishing his Stand's development by trying to shoot himself in the head to demonstrate his original Semblance's low-level telekinesis. The stoic boy had looked slightly uncomfortable, possibly even embarrassed, by the incident.

What they hadn't expected was to suddenly be forced to fight the old man, who had been using his speech as a distraction to wrap Hermit Purple around each of their chairs, shattering them all with one 'overdrive'. Even Pyrrha had been caught by surprise, sent sprawling to the floor as the wood overheated and exploded. The only ones who had remained mostly intact was, naturally, Team JOJO – who were then informed that it was time to be the teacher's aid.

For the second time in a week, Cardin had been punched through a wall by Crazy Diamond, and that was when Joseph had reluctantly called it a class. The tired four trudged towards the cafeteria, moaning and complaining to each other all the way, before they finally got their food and started to eat with gusto. Well, most of them – Blake barely touched hers, and before Yang could ask her why there was a sudden interruption.

"I can't believe she ditched us like that!" Coco fumed as she slammed her tray down next to RWBY's table. "The sheer nerve!"

The group slowly shifted away from her, glancing at each other nervously. Fox and Yatsuhashi gave them apologetic smiles as the leader of CFVY continued to rant.

"After everything we've done for her, she thinks she can just split like that without even so much as a by-your-leave? One day I can excuse, but an entire week! _Ridiculous_!"

"We're really sorry." Fox mouthed over the back of her head at the group, who just nodded and tried to look like they were paying attention to Coco's rant.

"We were meant to go shopping, too! She's started to look too big in the chest for her clothes!"

Yang immediately turned to Blake with a raised eyebrow. "Is that what you've noticed different about her? You perv!"

"Shut up, Yang." Blake said quietly, shaking her head. "I'm not you, I don't pay attention to that. Besides, I told you already, it was…something else in her sc – uh, manners."

"We know you're a Faunus, Blake, we're not stupid." Coco said dryly. "Nobody would wear the same colored bow with literally every outfit they wear, not even Yang's _that_ fashion blind."

"I might not follow the established trends, but I set them." The blonde sniffed haughtily, making the rest of RWBY look uncomfortable. "…although, yeah, you really should have worked a little harder to hide it Blake. I'm amazed we didn't figure it out sooner."

"Wait. You mean she _lived_ with you and she fooled you?" Coco stared in disbelief. "…wow, you guys must be the worst people to pick up social cues that ever lived. We've had one conversation and I picked it up."

"I never paid much attention to it." Ruby said guiltily. Weiss just stared into space, refusing to comment on what she was normally paying attention to.

"Good to know my secret was kept only by your inability to care." Blake shook her head, glancing around. "She really has gone missing, hasn't she."

Yeah, nowhere to be seen – not at any table, not talking to any other teams, not even being harassed by Cardin's groupies. Just four people at every table, except their own and JOJO's.

There was another pause as she furrowed her brow. "Wait a second, where's Guido?"

* * *

"Follow your bullets, Guido. We'll cover for you, Guido." The former Passione member grumbled as he followed Velvet from a safe distance. "You'll be able to handle whatever it is, Guido. I swear, sometimes Jotaro's just trying to get me killed."

When his bullet had come back, bleeding from a small gash on its head from running into a steel wall, it had reported Velvet's complete and utter change in behaviour and reaction to her teammates. With that in mind – and the knowledge that it was almost certainly an enemy Stand – they'd sent Guido to follow his bullet and find out exactly what was going on.

Now outside of school limits – which had been a feat, Velvet had used her faunus jumping abilities to leave the walls, while he'd had to resort to good old fashioned sneaking (if he ever saw a cardboard box again, he'd scream) – she was certainly heading towards a place that he'd never had thought to look for her.

Most faunus probably wouldn't hang out in a restaurant advertising its famous Rabbit Soup, after all. Which was why Guido was surprised when Velvet's ears seemed to retract back into her head, leaving her looking all the world like a normal Beacon student skipping class.

"This is getting weirder and weirder…" Guido grumbled as he stopped next to the window, trying to look like he was simply playing truant and straining his ears to listen in. Whatever he'd been expecting to hear from Velvet's mouth, it wasn't a man's voice.

"The place is a fortress, but there's an easy way to get in if you don't raise any alarms." 'Velvet' said, a man in a cowboy hat nodding in agreement. Guido did a double take as he got a better look, shooting away from the window and starting to sweat.

 _Hol Horse is here?!_

It had only been a matter of time until Passione arrived, he'd known that on some level, but to have them already be here was a new experience. Slowly, he reached down to his holster and unbuckled his revolver, sliding it out. His Stand was well suited to assassinations like this – if he could pull the trigger twice with nobody noticing, Sex Pistols would take out two known criminals immediately. As he loaded it, he looked straight ahead and saw Blake rapidly closing on him, glaring.

"What are you doing here?" Guido hissed in disbelief. Blake's eyes widened as she glanced at him.

"I could say the same!" She said, far too loud. Guido winced, Hol Horse looked up from his food, and that was when everything went to hell.

"Beacon student! Move!" He barked, and 'Velvet' shot out of the back door. Blake got ready to follow her, when Hol Horse put the piece of straw he'd been chewing down on the table and stood up, pointing his hand at the door. " _ **EMPEROR**_!"

She barely had time to register the gun's sudden appearance and dodge when the first bullet was fired, streaking over her shoulder and searing her flesh. Stumbling to the ground, she had to roll to the side to avoid being trampled by the panicked horde of families leaving the restaurant, even as sirens started to sound in the distance. Scowling, Guido finished loading his revolver, shimmying up next to the door.

"Get after that imposter before you lose her!" He snapped. "I'll take care of this bastard!"

He rounded the corner at the same time Hol Horse did, who reacted with equal shock, leaping backwards and summoning Emperor once more. Guido frantically fanned the hammer, not even bothering with Sex Pistols yet, just to force the assassin back into cover. Blake snapped (Weapon name) onto the roof and shot off, spotting Velvet in the distance, running after her.

"Passione." Guido growled. Hol Horse smiled thinly.

"A Joestar student…fun!"

Sex Pistols manifested immediately, circling around and passing Guido's first bullet between them. That one had been a diversion, to force Hol Horse into cover while Guido found some of his own – which he did, diving behind a nearby bus stop and panting heavily.

This was going to get rough.

* * *

"Stop!" Blake demanded, following 'Velvet' and growling to herself. The imposter seemed to be a master at blending in, at point even seeming to change the colour of their clothes – which was impressive. It had to be part of their Stand ability, or a semblance – she'd figure out which when she caught up to them. At least they were slow.

Leaping over a railing, the imposter dropped down several feet to a canal, landing heavily and cracking the rock beneath their feet – almost as if they weighed much more than they normally should. Latching Gambol Shroud onto the same railing, Blake lowered herself and glared as she landed, detaching the whip portion of her weapon and settling into a combat stance. "Who are you?"

"My name?" 'Velvet' giggled, as her features twisted and fell away into yellow goo, revealing a thickly built man. "Well, my codename is Rubber Soul. Little girl, you don't stand a chance."

"We'll see." She muttered darkly, levelling a pistol at his head. "Where's Coco?"

"Her? Oh, I need to keep her alive or the impersonation won't work. She's still on the campus, one of your paranoid friends will find her soon enough. After all, my mission is complete. Your security is incredibly lacking." He grinned, the yellow goo clinging to his body and shifting its shape. "Still, I don't need to keep you alive."

Blake opened fire, just as she'd been trained to – three shots to the center of mass, one for the head. Each bullet was intercepted by the goo, which seemed to swallow the shots and – bizarrely – grow larger. Rubber Soul laughed, pointing a finger at the girl as his goo armour moved to cover the rest of his body.

"See, girl? Useless. My Stand, Yellow Temperance, can prevent any attack. It's the ultimate defence, I tell you! You're nothing before it!"

* * *

Stand Name – Yellow Temperance

User – Rubber Soul

Destructive Power – D

Speed – C

Range – E

Durability – A

Precision – E

Developmental Potential – D

Other: Yellow Temperance allows Rubber Soul to alter his appearance, as long as it matches something that currently exists and he is aware of. It is also physically impervious, and assimilates matter that it comes into contact with.

* * *

 _This is bad_. Blake reflected, swinging up to grab onto one of the bridge supports and opening fire again, the bullets once more being absorbed by Yellow Temperance and strengthening him. _If I could find a blind spot, I'd be able to put him down – but he's too good, he won't let me find one._

"Here, kitty kitty kitty!" Rubber Soul mocked, planting his palm against the side of the support. Yellow Temperance slid out from around his arm and started eating away at the wood, making the bridge shudder and forcing Blake to cling on for dear life, tossing Gambol Shroud to the ground with a clatter – at least on the other side of the river from him. "Haha! Honestly, if this is the best Beacon can do I'm not impressed!"

Bracing herself, Blake leapt to another support just as that one cracked and the entire bridge drooped to the side – thankfully, nobody was on it anymore. Not that she imagined the inevitably arriving authorities would be much help. Reaching out with her Semblance, she made a copy of herself and used its slight tangibility to drop down without hurting herself, landing heavily on the other side of the river and scooping up Gambol Shroud once more.

 _It's absorbing all physical matter._ She noted, frowning. _If my bullets won't do anything, the whip won't either._

She needed to do something, anything, to at least knock him out. If he escaped, not only would she be dead but it was entirely possible he could infiltrate the academy a second time under the guise of a different student – a problem that she wasn't sure anyone would be able to detect. Racking the slide, the beginnings of a plan started to form in her head.

 _He still needs to breathe…_

The canal. That was her best chance. How to get him in there, though? Well, it took Yellow Temperance time to absorb matter. Maybe, just maybe, she could yank him into the river with her whip before the rope snapped. It was risky, but it was the best chance she had. Unless…

"Alright." She said to herself, eyeing the broken supports before snapping Gambol Shroud up to latch onto the bridge one more time.

"Hah! Trying to escape, are you?" Rubber Soul taunted, before he noticed something – she wasn't swinging away anymore. Now, she was swinging _towards_ him. Grimacing in preparation for the impact, Blake's boots landed heavily into Rubber Soul's chest, Yellow Temperance starting to leech over them as the man stumbled backwards, unbalanced, and fell into the river. Tying Gambol Shroud to a nearby hook, she dove down after him and latched into his throat, wrapping the whip around his neck.

Rubber Soul laughed, the bubbles of air escaping his mouth even as he pointed at her arm. Glancing down, Blake's eyes widened in silent horror as Yellow Temperance ate away at her flesh.

If I'm going down, you're dying first! Rubber Soul seemed to taunt her with his eyes, and Blake couldn't think of a way out of this situation. Not easily, anyway.

That was when something flickered behind Rubber Soul. Something large, smokey, and cat-like.

* * *

"EMPEROR!"

"SEX PISTOLS!"

Bullets started flying through the air as Guido fanned the hammer of his revolver, each of the shots curving around in a different direction. Hol Horse's semi-automatic returned fire, its own bullets adopting a spiral pattern that forced Guido to duck behind cover. The various Bullets of Guido's stand sped towards Hol Horse, who grinned around his cigarette and fired again as rapidly as possible.

The shots twisted in the air, impacting each of the Bullets as the approached him and knocking them out of the air. The rounds they were carrying shot straight forward, smashing the mirror behind Hol Horse. Behind his cover, Guido gasped in pain as six bullet wounds opened up on his body – two on each arm, two in his stomach.

"He shot them down…?"

"That's what you get for relying on a Stand for accuracy!" Hol Horse chuckled, spinning Emperor in his hand over and over as he approached the bus stop. Guido grimaced and reloaded, recalling his Stand into the chambers of his gun.

"While you need an infinite magazine to do shit." He spat back, rolling out of cover and firing. Hol Horse grinned and fired again, making the cowardly Bullets dive out of his path, until he realized something just as the sixth bullet rammed into his chest.

Guido had only used five of his Bullets to guide his shots. Hol Horse had, arrogantly, assumed he would try to guide all of them – and thus, fired his counter shots to hit the Stands and once again hurt Guido. Since that hadn't happened, however, one round had gotten through…which was all Guido needed. Bleeding from his wounds, the former assassin dragged himself to his feet and snapped one more round into his gun, levelling it at the stunned cowboy's head.

"Need to use my Stand my ass." Guido snorted. Hol Horse winced in fear, before his grin turned triumphant as he saw something rise up behind Guido in his own pool of blood. The JOJO member cried out in pain and fell to the floor as Hanged Man impaled him in the 'shoulder', making him drop out of the range of the reflection caused by his blood.

"We're leaving." J Geil growled, and Hol Horse hurridly agreed, clutching the hole in his chest and running. Guido dragged himself to his knees and levelled his pistol, firing the round he'd intended to execute Hol Horse with, but it went wide.

"…crap."

Well, at least he'd driven them off. They'd have their rematch eventually. Now, where was Josuke or Giorno to patch him back up again?

* * *

Blake's newly-awoken Stand ripped its claws across Rubber Soul's back, forcing more air out of his lungs even as Yellow Temperance latched onto it as well. The Stand just shed away the affected portion of its body, dissipating like smoke as it bit the back of Blake's neck like a kitten and tossed her out of the water, where she landed on the side of the canal, coughing up water and writhing in pain from Yellow Temperance's stretch on her arm.

"Blake!"

Guido dropped to the ground, the rest of Team JOJO behind him. Josuke clutched something in his Stand's hand, a fragment of her clothing that she must have left behind at the restraunt when it all started – he must have used it to track her. Waving them away, she glanced down into the river where her Stand continued to shed smoke to prevent Yellow Temperance getting a hold on it, all while keeping Rubber Soul's head below water.

Eventually, he stopped struggling, and Yellow Temperance stopped eating at her arm and eventually vanished into thin air, revealing a bloodied mess of half-dissolved flesh.

"I'm gonna be sick." Josuke admitted, looking away queasily. Blake started hyperventilating, glancing away from her arm and shaking. Giorno just sighed and crouched down next to her, Gold Experience manifesting next to him.

"This is going to hurt." He said softly, as Gold Experience drew back its fist.

"Are you going to cut it off?" Blake managed to get through clenched teeth. Giorno chuckled, and then Gold Experience struck her, and her vision turned white. Screaming, she twisted to glance at her arm and her eyes widened as the flesh that Yellow Temperance had burned away slowly reformed.

"I can heal people, it just hurts." Giorno said, nodding towards Josuke. "He can stick stuff back together, but since your flesh was just gone, I was your only option."

"Thanks." Blake said through gritted teeth, standing up before woozily falling over. Her Stand manifested again, letting her lean on its side as she tried to regain her balance.

"I don't give you back blood." Giorno pointed out, making the faunus nod in acknowledgement. "Congratulations, by the way. What's it called?"

Blake glanced at her Stand for a moment, before smiling. "…From Shadows."

"Neat." Guido grunted. "So…can we go back and get yelled at by officials now?"

* * *

 _ **RUBBER SOUL – RETIRED (KILLED)**_

Stand Name – From Shadows

User – Blake Belladonna

Destructive Power – C

Speed – B

Range – C (40 meters)

Durability – N/A, Smoke

Precision – A

Developmental Potential – A

Other: From Shadows can turn itself, and anyone riding it, temporarily intangible in the form of smoke. In addition, this smoke can create clones of itself and its user, who have little substance of their own but can be used for spying and confusing enemies in a fight.

* * *

A/N: Brought to you by the Air Punch rock playlist on Spotify. I had to skip last month for various other commitments, but what can you do – and I've adjusted myself to a much saner limit of 5,000 words a chapter instead of 10,000. I forgot work was a thing.


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